A BLACKBIRD which has taken roost in a local supermarket has been given a last minute reprieve after bosses decided against shooting it.

Supermarket staff have tried every trick in the book to try to persuade the bird to leave Accrington's Asda store after it moved in more than three weeks ago.

After attempts to net it, cage it and coax it out with bait, staff thought they were left with no other alternative than to call in a marksman to destroy the bird which regularly swoops down on the food counter for grapes.

The Hyndburn Road store gained permission from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Foods to destroy the protected song bird but attempts to shoot it failed.

Now a firm of pest control specialists have been called in and using a giant 'mist net' will hopefully see the bird finally take flight from the store.

Cardiff-based National Britannia is set to move in as soon as it gets a licence from MAFF to capture the bird with the fine net usually used to trap sparrows. The net has special pockets which traps the bird which can then be freed safely.

A spokesman for Asda said: "We have made every effort to try to get the bird out of the store and on one occasion we succeeded only for it to fly back in again. The problem is that it is causing a health and safety risk and is unhygienic. Using a marksman did not work so hopefully this method will put an end to the problem once and for all."

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